Warlord Games have recently released four new Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) vehicles consisting of two Chevrolet truck and two jeeps which differ mainly in the stowage and crew set up. In a special deal they have set-up a 'Behind Enemy Lines' unit deal where you can get both trucks and your choice of jeep for 50 pounds, it can be found here.
The vehicles are resin with metal crew and weapons, and are easily some of the finest vehicles I have seen, with a huge amount of integrated stowage. There is no need to add anything to these vehicles. However you may need to straighten up some of the resin with some hot water and clean-up some excess flash, but this should only take you a few minutes.
I will discuss more of the history and listing options in another article and for this one I will just concentrate on the way I painted them for those that have shown an interest.
Preparation
Using plasticard I put down a layer of Spakfilla with some sprinklings of sand and small rocks to create the base. This stage is totally optional and not for everyone. Once dry, I glue the vehicle down and prime first with an Army Painter Black spray. I then like to use an Army Painter white spray and with the can facing directly above the miniature spray lightly, this has an effect of highlighting everything while keeping the lower portions dark and will help later as you add layers to create depth.
You will need a brush and some foam from a blister pack and the following colours:
(70.977) Desert Sand Vallejo Model Color
(70.912) Tan Yellow Vallejo Model Color
(321) Highlight British Uniform Vallejo Panzer Aces
(72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color
Army Painter String Tone Ink
(AK720) Rubber Tyres AK Interactive
(72.042) Parasite Brown Vallejo Game Color
(70.981) Red BrownVallejo Model Color
(70.826) German Dark Cam Medium Brown Vallejo Model Color
(70.983) Flat Earth Vallejo Model Color
(70.826) German Beige Brown Vallejo Model Color
(70.924) Russian Uniform Vallejo Model Color
Army Green from Army Painter
Vehicle Body
Stage 1 - Paint the vehicle with (70.977) Desert Sand Vallejo Model Color
Stage 2 - Wash the vehicle with Army Painter Strong Tone.
Stage 3 - Using some blister pack foam blot the raised areas with (70.977) Desert Sand Vallejo Model Color (normal procedure applies to blot off most of the paint before applying to vehicle). Ensure you leave the recesses dark and make the areas deliberately uneven.
Stage 4 - Using blister pack foam, this time with (70.912) Tan Yellow Vallejo Model Color, blot the areas trying to concentrate on the areas that would get the most light.
Stage 5 - Continue the blister pack foam blotting with (321) Highlight British Uniform Vallejo Panzer Aces, this time with a smaller area again.
Stage 6 - Finally use the (72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color as a final highlight to areas that would get the most amount of sun.
Stage 7 - (Optional) This is the part where I add the chipping to the paintwork, I like it as it adds that veteran look and provides some contrast to the light colours. I use (71.052) German Grey Vallejo Model Air to do the chipping and some blister pack foam in a random manner with most of the attention given to the most exposed areas.
Stage 8 - Using the (AK720) Rubber Tyres from AK Interactive, paint the wheels. This paint is very thin, so be careful not to put paint on the actual rims. Once dry you can use the (72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color to drybrush and make the wheels looks dusty.
Stage 9 - Now it is time for the stowage, I used four main colour schemes being dark brown, red brown, sand and green. These all follow the same technique which is base colour - wash - base colour - lighter colour (smaller area) - lightest colour (just the highlights).
Dark Brown - Large tarps, some smaller stowage
(70.826) German Dark Cam Medium Brown from Vallejo Model Color
Army Painter Strong Tone Ink
(70.983) Flat Earth from Vallejo Model Color
(70.826) German Beige Brown from Vallejo Model Color
Red Brown - Wood, rifle stocks etc
(72.042) Parasite Brown from Vallejo Game Color
Army Painter Strong Tone Ink
(70.981) Red Brown from Vallejo Model Color
(72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color (mix with red brown for final highlight)
Green - some cloth type stowage
(70.924) Russian Uniform from Vallejo Model Color
Army Painter Strong Tone Ink
Army Green from Army Painter
Sand - some cloth type stowage
(70.912) - Tan Yellow Vallejo Model Color
(321) - Highlight British Uniform Vallejo Panzer Aces
(72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color
Troops
I used the following for the light coloured uniforms,
(321) - Highlight British Uniform Vallejo Panzer Aces
Army Painter Strong Tone ink
(72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color
And for the green coloured jumpers I used these
(70.924) Russian Uniform from Vallejo Model Color
Army Painter Strong Tone Ink
Army Green from Army Painter
Flesh
(72.041) Dwarf Skin from Vallejo Game Color
Army Painter Strong Tone ink
(72.034) Bonewhite Vallejo Game Color (mixed with dwarf skin)
General Tips
The sponge technique is a really great way to get a controlled variation in colour throughout your vehicle and most people have these in spades just sitting around, tear off a corner of a blister pack sponge and give it a go. This technique can also be used with other colour vehicles like green for Allied M4's or Dunkelgelb for German tanks. This hobby is all about trying new things to get a slightly different effects, so challenge yourself on your next project.
With your highlights on the stowage be extreme, subtlety is great but if you want them to 'pop' you have to have nice contrast between the light and dark variations of the colour.
I hope this guide is a help to some out there, like anything, there are a million ways to do it and if you get even something small out of it then that makes it worth it. Happy painting!
